It used to be so easy. For day-to-day wear, go to Marks&Sparks, buy your cotton panties in pretty much any size, including plus sizes, pay a reasonable amount. Job done. Repeat as necessary.

Over recent years, it’s got more tricky even at M&S. Plus sizes are the first to sell out – doesn’t this tell retailers something … like not enough stock to meet demand? Um, it seems not. Cotton content reduced to ‘cotton-rich’ or cotton gussets only (and isn’t that a word that makes you cringe: Gusset). Ever increasing complexity of styles and always narrowing the plus style options. Ridiculously poor quality with increased ‘trims’ to disguise this, usually in the form of scratchy lace, bows, spots and dots with useless elastic that has no will to continue after a few wears … or is this all just building in obsolescence to make us buy more?

And, M&S, what are you doing? Look at your product line, people, and then your demographic. I read you are doing this but … still no basic good-quality underwear in plain colours at good prices for women in their middle years. Plain black cotton, please, or we will never come back.

Anyway, it all drives me insane every time I need new underwear. Luckily, the internet does, at least, offer more than the simple M&S options. Though shipping a few pairs of knickers from the States or even Europe – do I have to?

Looking around for my usual bikini-style, black, cotton, plus size briefs, I discover they are in short supply everywhere. Synthetics totally rule as do waist-highs and white. I am totally bemused. How does white become the go-to colour? It shows under everything.

I’ve found a few places that sell what I want but of those I’ve tried, well, at the cheap end, the quality is truly dire and even at mid-price, not great. This week, I have been back on the hunt and am waiting on some Sloggi Tai briefs – 95% cotton, black, bikinis, all regular and upto plus size 24 (UK). Ordered them from Amazon – does anyone not sell on Amazon?

I really hope these are fit for purpose and, if so, I’m gonna do a Steve Jobs and buy in bulk – maybe 50 of them, if I am able to source that many – as I am so fed up wasting my time on what should be an easily available basic essential, you’d think.

Anyone else out there got any other recommendations for me? I cannot be alone in this, can I?

Elle’s Plus Black Blog

Hi, I’m Elle and Plus Black is my lifestyle blog for sharing inspiration and ideas for sustaining stylish fabulousness through life’s unexpected transitional moments. Click across to About Plus Black to read more